"Health is not everything, but without health nothing matters." - Schopenhauer
Regular exercise showed major improvements in people suffering from depression, and 90 minutes of exercise per week had the same effect as antidepressants.
Studies show that 44% of sedentary people are much more likely to develop anxiety and depression.
We live in a time when we are under a lot of stress, jobs often involve little physical activity and working hours are getting longer. Most of us spend up to 10-12 hours a day sitting in a chair, accumulating high levels of stress in the body which means the hormone cortisol is present in high amounts.
With regular exercise, more important than a pleasing physical appearance is the fact that it helps us regulate our endocrine system, which lowers the amount of stress we accumulate in a day. Endorphins, the hormones secreted during physical activity, are particularly responsible for this effect and are some of the most important in reducing anxiety and stress.
They last up to 4 hours after physical activity has stopped. It is therefore not infrequently recommended that people with such problems introduce an exercise routine into their lives.
Many people think that exercise is only necessary if they are facing the problem of extra pounds. Well I want to tell you that this is not the truth. The truth is that it has a multitude of benefits. Ultimately it helps us to live longer, but what is very important is the quality of life when sport is integrated into the lifestyle.
There are people with a low fat percentage at first glance, but tests indicate an increased degree of visceral fat. Fat present on the organs, because of which they can no longer function properly. Thus, this fat is extremely unhealthy for the proper functioning of the body and supports a fertile breeding ground for the development of certain diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, insulin resistance and even some cancers.
The improved physical appearance is necessary to come as a consequence of exercising and not as a main reason, and our health should not be a seasonal goal - as it often happens in the periods approaching the warm season, when people start exercising driven by the idea of having a "beach appropriate" physique. An extremely toxic and wrong idea.
A trained cardiovascular system, a strong muscular system, increased bone density, a brain that can function optimally and thus make better decisions. These are essential components if we want not just to get through life but to mark that passage through pleasant, quality experiences.
All in all, sport, movement and exercise are a remedy for insomnia, regulates insulin levels in the blood thus decreases insulin resistance which often comes with negative consequences on our body. It supports an increased level of bone density, so it should not be missing from the routine of women who are in the menopause, the period when bone density decreases considerably and osteoporosis occurs.
It is also a natural aphrodisiac, improves the appearance of the skin, helps us to have a better posture, increases self-esteem, regulates digestion, improves flexibility so that we manage to get through everyday activities much easier.
So, we need an exercise routine if we love ourselves, respect ourselves enough and don't just want to live long but to live healthy, to be able to move through our daily activities with ease, to have a good mood and to be an example to everyone around us.
There are 2 categories of exercise - aerobic exercise, where the heart rate is maintained at a medium level for a longer period of time (cycling, running, swimming, aerobics classes, dancing, walking) and anaerobic exercise where the heart rate is increased but maintained for a short period of time (sprinting, lifting heavy weights).
Endurance training can be an exercise routine with your own weight, a cycling class, weight training, a dance class, swimming, jogging)
Thus, we manage to maintain an optimal functionality of the joints and increase sports performance, ensuring the easy execution of more difficult exercises that require a higher degree of mobility and flexibility in the joints, benefiting from the maximum range of motion not being limited by a high degree of joint and muscle stiffness.
HIIT training requires a workout time of around 30 minutes and perfectly combines aerobic and anaerobic, endurance and cardio strength training. It should not be done by beginners and there should be some preparation before starting this type of training, as it is so demanding and if there is no proper preparation the risk of injury can increase.
It is the performance of long duration but lower power activity than anaerobic activity.
Aerobic activity involves working out in the presence of oxygen, so it trains your endurance, cardiovascular system and lungs. Combined with a balanced diet, aerobics supports fat burning and is used in all activities that involve a medium level of exertion and long duration.
It is recommended here that the heart rate is kept between 130-140 beats per minute.
They train your burst, give you a higher heart rate than aerobic and take place in the absence of oxygen.
In general, a workout routine for the average person who does not practice a specific performance sport contains a combination of the 2 energy systems. It is necessary to take into account the increase in endurance for the health of the cardiovascular system but it is also important to train strength - training strength, reactivity, explosiveness, white muscle fibers, type 2 (present in intense low duration efforts, which are the most qualitative muscle fibers).
For example, you can work on a workout at the gym 3-4 sets of 12-15 repetitions with medium weights with a break of 1:30-2:00 minutes, depending on the degree of recovery after exercise of each person, where you get your aerobic system in action and at the end you can run sprints on the treadmill for 20 seconds at an increased speed followed by 40 seconds - 1 minute jogging.
The latter is an interval workout that is highly effective and superior to classic cardio workouts.
Exercises of increased intensity are performed followed by short pauses in which the pulse cannot reach the normal level, which is when we are in homeostasis. Exercises are generally performed for 30-45 seconds and pauses are 10-30 seconds. Here it very much depends on the person's fitness level.
These 2 systems can alternate very easily from the break depending on how long or short it is and of course the weights you are using in the workout. A squat where you will be using a high weight, that means you can work up to 6-8 reps with that weight the anaerobic system kicks in, and if you perform 20 reps with a medium-low weight the aerobic system kicks in.
It is essential to have a strong muscular system to work with weights, but don't forget to train the cardiovascular system which supports endurance, thus developing endurance.
A larger muscle mass, and here I want to point out that a large muscle mass does not necessarily mean large in volume, we are talking about having a good ratio between muscle mass and fat mass, the latter to be in a lower percentage, is a metabolically active. This means that it helps us to burn more calories being a high energy consumer at rest, homeostasis.
Thus, it requires a higher energy intake that we can provide through a diet based on the consumption of mainly vegetables, fruits and foods with a low degree of processing (organic meat from animals raised on the soil, vegetables, fruits, whole grain cereal products with a high fiber content) so we do not have to eat extremely low-calorie diets that cannot provide the necessary nutrients for proper functioning of the body.
Very important are also exercises that improve and train flexibility and mobility. As we get older, if we do not have a regular exercise routine, our joints suffer and lose mobility. At these times, we become extremely limited in our movements, pain and the risk of injury increases, we lose our balance and posture becomes poor.
A correct and complete exercise routine involves introducing a few yoga or pilates moves after each workout to the stretching or maybe even a whole class that we can attend weekly.
Flexibility and mobility refers to the ability of joints to move and a stiff muscle mass contributes to limited range of motion and so we experience all kinds of pain. Often people who have a low degree of flexibility experience deep pain in the lower back and beyond. Stretching and stretching is not the same as flexibility but it can increase flexibility. Both flexibility and mobility are influenced by both muscle mass and connective tissues such as ligaments and tendons.
By taking them into account and maintaining an optimal level of flexibility and mobility we manage to increase our sports performance, stay away from injuries or recover much more easily after an accident but also to have a correct posture and become more aware of our body.
Nowadays, we often meet people who are extremely disconnected from the body and who live most of their lives stuck in the mind, which limits us greatly. In all religions, the physical body is the home of the soul, of the higher self, and therefore the bridge between the illusion of physical reality and the immortal soul.
According to the saying "mens sana in corpore sano", it is impossible to live the harmonious balance of health in a sick body to which we do not pay attention and respect.
Also, by being disconnected from the body we lose sight of our divine essence and our best friend without which we cannot live, the body. So we end up going through life without strength, without clarity, without energy, not knowing where we came from and where we are going, without a purpose, without an ideal, being caught up in the whirlwind of life.
Yoga/pilates exercises can support our relationship with our own body and make us more aware of its needs and in touch with it.
Here are some simple mobility and flexibility exercises that can be done anywhere and anytime, especially recommended for people with little free time.
For a workout to be effective we need to take into account a number of essential components such as (frequency, volume, intensity, recovery) but first and foremost setting and setting initial goals.
It is necessary to carry out a physical history and if your knowledge in this area is limited, it would be better to ask a specialist for help, at least at the beginning.
After setting the goals it is necessary to periodize the training plan, establishing the frequency of workouts that you can typically participate in a week, this is closely related to lifestyle. I believe that an important component in determining the frequency of workouts is the job a person has. Thus, having as a primary goal increased health and not doing performance like those who are performance athletes in different disciplines.
For a training plan to be effective, it is important that the effort put in is dosed correctly so that the individual is challenged in a way that they can sustain the habit in the long term and make it a lifestyle.
Studies show that 150 min per week of exercise per week is needed for optimal health, but it is also important how much we move outside of the hours when we go to the gym. So 3 sessions of 50 minutes a week will not make us active people if the other 23 hours are spent sitting at a desk or on the couch. Here I want to mention that it is essential to increase the level of non-training physical activity such as walking for example.
The workout plan should be personalized according to the goals and especially to the current physical capacity of the individual. Exercises should be chosen from easy to complex, taking into account each individual's physical limitations and current state of health so that training sessions do not jeopardize their health but also do not allow them to work constantly in their comfort zone. Our body adapts easily so it is good to keep in mind the intensity of the workout, the breaks between sets and juggle with them.
It is necessary to consider exercises with our own weight to begin with and to give the body time to adapt to the effort and then the exercises with weights where we consider the development of strength and endurance but also those that train our aerobic system combining mobility and flexibility exercises that improve the form and technique of the exercises.
In order to have a harmonious and developed balanced body it is recommended to work carefully on both upper and lower body as well as unilateral movements that bring balance between the left and right sides of the body, which are often out of balance.
Core movements such as squats, lunges, squats, lunges, pull-ups, chest thrusts are exercises that engage multiple muscle groups at the same time and thus require more of the energy your body needs. So you'll burn more calories per workout, you'll increase your muscle mass and bone density and your basal metabolic rate will be much faster.
Of course, just as important as training is recovery, rest time.
In fact, the muscle does not grow during the training session but during the rest and of course by giving it the healthiest diet that will support it throughout this process. So the recommendation is to take into account the hours of sleep, around 8 hours a night, preferably between 22-23.
Massage also supports post-exercise muscle recovery and helps the body to eliminate toxins by increasing blood circulation and giving the skin a velvety soft look.
Food is essential for the proper functioning of the body and for the prevention of diseases in general, so it is good to be 80% 80% proportion of nutritious, nutrient dense, provide the optimal requirements of vitamins, minerals and macronutrients. However, in order to maintain a balance and to take the emotional side into account, we can also enjoy in moderation some products that are not exactly suited to our body's needs and do not contain as many nutrients but that we enjoy and sometimes satisfy our cravings. Consumed in moderation, with enjoyment and without guilt, they are not a health hazard.
Taking into account all the elements I wrote about above, if you care about your mental, physical and emotional health, if you want to maximize the wonderful experiences that life can take you through, if you don't want to face severe health problems that can make you dependent on medication, it is necessary to move your body as often as possible and feed it according to its needs, as nutritious as possible with real food from clean sources.
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